This course will introduce students to reading a range of literary texts—novels, short stories, poetry, essays, film, etc.—for
academic engagement and enjoyment. Throughout the quarter, we will explore “Literary Maps” in order to better understand the
relationship between place, identity, history, and culture. “Mapping” will serve as both an object of literary study and a critical
approach to reading practice in the course. Our goal will be to understand how the course texts chart national culture and history onto geographical space. Furthermore, we will consider what is at stake in the production and interpretation of these literary maps of U.S. sites and landscapes. As we read, we will attend to each work’s historical context as well as the varied social positions that these texts represent in relation to race, class, gender, and sexuality. We will begin our inquiry in the mid-19th century and we will proceed chronologically through a board selection of texts that map and analyze American places and spaces. We will conclude the course by turning to a selection of fiction and poetry centered in Seattle in order to consider the politics of living and circulating in particular places and spaces.



While the course theme establishes an organizational logic for the class, students’ interests and ideas will shape how we read the
course texts as the term develops. Students will be encouraged to raise their own questions about the material throughout the
quarter. Along the way, this class will provide strategies for close reading, analyzing literature, and writing in an academic
context. Students will be expected to think critically about the course materials and to actively participate in class activities,
including lectures, group presentations, group work, and class discussions.

This course fulfills the University of Washington’s W-requirement by requiring 10-12 pages of graded, out-of-class writing.